Individual of the Year:
These non-survivors have been called to help with the issue, whether it be through their job, or writing a book or creating a program.
Lisa Haba is an attorney in Central Florida that has spent her career working to fight against human trafficking, sex crimes, and crimes against children. Mrs. Haba works for The Haba Law Firm, a law firm located in Central Florida that takes cases nationwide. In this capacity, she files lawsuits on behalf of human trafficking and sexual abuse survivors against hotels, ride share services, social media companies, schools, churches, or any other business that is liable for the exploitation of a person. Notably, Mrs. Haba is one of the lead attorneys on the ongoing class action lawsuit against billionaire fashion mogul, Peter Nygard, for international human trafficking and the exploitation of women and children, and she is lead counsel for the Plaintiffs in the groundbreaking lawsuit of John Doe 1 and 2 v. Twitter for sex trafficking and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material on the Twitter platform.
Lisa Haba (Florida)
Selina Higgins, MA, MSW, LCSW-R has been the inaugural Executive Director of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services’ Office of Child Trafficking Prevention and Policy since its creation in 2015 as the first office within a NYC public agency dedicated to trafficked and at-risk youth. OCTPP coordinates all aspects of policy and practice concerning trafficked youth, including identification, prevention and service provision for the entire NYC child welfare system. She currently works with youth through a variety of self or co-developed anti-trafficking, therapeutic group work models. She created the NYC Child Tattoo Eradication Project (free tattoo removal), the “Here for You” Credible Messenger Program, developed the 40-page spiral book: Child Trafficking and What YOU Can Do About It: Tools for NYC Child Welfare Professionals, which is now accessible from her NYC Trafficking Prevention app. Selina also helped develop the Child Trafficking Database, a cloud-based, electronic sex trafficking screening mechanism. In 2020, the NYC’s Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence honored Selina as an Advocate of New York City.
Selina Higgins (New York)
Nate Knapper is the Founder & CEO of The Joseph Project, a nonprofit organization that connects human trafficking survivors with pro bono legal services. Currently spanning 28 states across the country, The Joseph Project’s attorney network has delivered essential legal representation to hundreds of survivors, including criminal record relief, family law assistance, immigration counsel, credit repair, and debt relief. In addition to his nonprofit efforts, Nate simultaneously serves as an FBI Special Agent in the Bureau’s Detroit Field Office, where he investigated human trafficking matters. He formerly served as an Assistant Attorney General at the Michigan Department of Attorney General, where he worked as a member of the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission. He is a member of the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Michigan and a graduate of Calvin University, Pepperdine Law School, and the Straus Dispute Resolution Institute.
Nate Knapper (Michigan)
Ena Lucia is a trauma-informed professional specializing in male survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation. For over a decade, she has worked with the Government of Canada, non-governmental organizations, INTERPOL, and lived-experts on research, policy writing, human rights advocacy work, and global projects focused on supporting victims and survivors. Ena Lucia is a trainer and speaker and has presented her research at international conferences, trained frontline professionals, and is published in the Child Abuse and Neglect Journal special edition on boys.
Ena Lucia Mariaca Pacheco (Canada)
Organization of the Year:
They have seen the problem up close and personal and felt a call to open a house, create a chapter, put survivors to work and more. \
Established in 2016, Call to Freedom is a trauma-informed nonprofit that provides comprehensive, ongoing, and coordinated support services for all individuals impacted by human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Since opening the doors, CTF has served over 900 individuals. Our continuum of care model includes survivors’ input into program development and specialized supportive housing for women impacted by human trafficking and their children. CTF has shared their voice to help establish state legislation and create significant awareness and prevention in the state. www.calltofreedom.org.
Call to Freedom (South Dakota)
Eyes Open International (EOI) is cultivating a change against modern-day slavery by using survivor-informed expertise to combat human trafficking through prevention, education, protection, and empowerment of victims, survivors, vulnerable population and community members worldwide. EOI believes in grassroots methods by turning obstacles into opportunities. Uplifting - Victims into survivors, ’Survivors into Thrivers’, and inspiring survivors to live a happy life from “Fear to Freedom”. Suicide or Silence is not a solution, choice, or option. Victims lives Matter.
Eyes Open International
The Joseph Project addresses the legal collateral damage associated with human trafficking by connecting survivors to skilled pro bono attorneys called Legal First Responders. Making such connections requires the organization to conduct extensive client assessment, legal research, and professional networking. Lawyers who elect to volunteer as Legal First Responders often help survivors resolve their outstanding criminal charges, reestablish custody of their children, obtain legal immigration status, alleviate their debt burdens, and repair their credit, among many other issues. The Joseph Project’s network of Legal First Responders has expanded into 28 states across America. Ultimately, the organization seeks to create a national justice delivery system to extend the protections of law to human trafficking survivors wherever they may be found.
The Joseph Project
New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking
The New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking is a volunteer run, survivor inclusive nonprofit founded in 2011. It aims to set the standard for how small nonprofits can ensure survivors are included, respected and compensated for all their work. The Coalition has run 10 statewide SOAP Outreaches since 2014, reaching over 800 hotels and motels, it recently released two survivor created PSAs, and engages educators, healthcare professionals, and passionate advocates to make a safer NJ.
Volunteer of the Year:
Volunteers are the backbone of any organization fighting human trafficking. These individuals don’t get paid for helping to take survivors to appointments, collecting needed items, and just doing what needs to be done to further the cause. They sacrifice without getting paid because they are called to do this and we appreciate them immensely.
Valerie is a truly amazing human being who has overcome great adversity and trauma in her life. Valerie is a survivor of human trafficking. She has dedicated her life and time to helping other survivors., She volunteers in the SOAP program, Valerie also spends countless hours researching, trying to find ways to better help other survivors. She is on call to help in emergency situations if a victim of human trafficking is rescued. Valerie also spends her free time speaking to people about the horrors of human trafficking and what we can do to help and recognize the signs. Valerie also works with the Cleveland police on human trafficking and goes out and speaks to groups of people from all different walks of life about the horrors of trafficking and talks about her personal experience of what happened to her and the horrifying things that she went through, in effort to make to people understand that this does exist all over the world . She works tirelessly to try to figure out how we can stop this terrible atrocity.
Valerie Addy (Ohio)
Kathy has worked as a Nurse for over 40 years primarily in Pediatrics. For 14 years she was a Forensic Nurse or a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. Kathy held certifications as a Adult Adolescent Forensic Nurse and as a Pediatric Forensic Nurse. As a Forensic Nurse she would serve over 500 victims of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Elder Abuse and Human Trafficking. Kathy is now retired. For the past 8 years she has been a volunteer/ ambassador for The Collaborative to end Human Trafficking in Cuyahoga County. In 2020 Kathy was connected with 2 dedicated volunteers and they started to form a Collaborative in Lake County. She provided Ticket box Cards and Police Policies to 57 departments in Cuyahoga and Lake County. Kathy has presented trainings on Human Trafficking to community groups ,hotels ,cosmetology staff, colleges, universities, nursing programs and EMS/Paramedics.
Kathy Goellnitz (Ohio)
Laurie Jost has actively brought human trafficking awareness to the metropolitan Detroit area and Michigan for the past 18 years. Her most notable accomplishments while serving as a board member of the Wayne County Medical Society Foundation are co-producing and promoting two films exposing human trafficking. The award-winning film Stuck in Traffic - Modern-Day Slavery in Michigan was released in 2016, and Men Who Buy Sex - Everybody Pays premiered in February 2022. http://www.wcmssm.org/human-trafficking.html
Laurie Jost (Michigan)
Sally Popa is the middle sibling of 10 children born in Michigan, to Kathryn and John Tobias, her role models. She landed in Columbus, Ohio and after 33 years with Time Warner Cable she began volunteering for Child Abuse Prevention, Salvation Army and now SOAP. Sally loves her role as a survivor mentor and spends endless hours a week talking, texting, mailing and in-person visits to maintain a positive influence and friend to these amazing women. She helps with fund-raising for special events, volunteers for retreats, provides monetary and household allocations through SOAP, helps with community outreaches, writes donation thank you notes and anywhere else she is needed. Sally feels like she has assumed a Mother or Big Sister role to many of these women. She likes to move through her life quietly, but continues to pursue her role with SOAP and considers it a personal calling.
Sally Popa (Ohio)
Law Enforcement/ Public Official of the Year:
Laws are what keep us safe. With human trafficking being the 2nd leading crime in the US, we need strong laws to protect our human rights. From developing bills, to passing them into legislation and then enforcing them, this is a critical part of the fight.
Director of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force. Sergeant Hess is a 15-year veteran with the Columbus Division of Police and was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2016. As an employee for the Columbus Division of Police, she was a Defensive Tactics Instructor, Taser Instructor, and Standard Field Sobriety Test Instructor. In July of 2020, she was named the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Director, which is the largest human trafficking task force in the state of Ohio. She has been the coordinator for three large- scale human trafficking operations in the state of Ohio. Operation Autumn Hope, Operation 614, and Operation Ohio Knows were three of the largest collaborative efforts to address the issue of human trafficking in the history of Ohio. She also served as member of the Central Ohio Multi-disciplinary Team to combat child sex trafficking and developed a protocol for assessing child sex trafficking cases.
Sgt. Dana Hess (Ohio)
In her capacity as an ombudsman, Nicole Reilly is the Office of the Nevada Attorney General’s liaison for issues related to domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual assault and exploitation and human trafficking. She acts as a state-level coordinator of the Nevada Committee on Domestic Violence and of system-wide improvements in the education, prevention and intervention of these crimes, as well as work to increase accountability for perpetrators. Reilly is passionate about breaking the cycle of abuse through education, prevention and service provider access for victims. Her experience in areas of trauma, abuse intervention, child advocacy, domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and the legal field informs her work in this role, and helps her more fully serve the needs of our communities statewide. “I am always looking forward for ways I can best use my experiences and passion for serving others to make a difference in the lives of Nevadans.”
Nicole Reilly (Nevada)
Josh Saltar became an FBI Special Agent in the fall of 2014. He currently leads the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force at the Columbus Resident Agency. Special Agent Saltar is primarily responsible for investigating Violent Crimes against Children which come in the form of online exploitation of children. He painstakingly reviews the evidence in a way that respects the child’s dignity and leads to offenders being held accountable, from prior sex offenders, truck drivers, and construction workers to teachers, adolescent psychiatrists, and other law enforcement officers. Special Agent Saltar uses his knowledge of CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) to leverage the FBI’s ability to open and investigate Human Trafficking cases both in Ohio as well as thousands of miles away. He comprehends how those who produce and share CSAM for their personal gain violate children and facilitate sex trafficking in the eyes of federal law, and has worked cases in which that occurred over several generations of victims. He devotes countless hours to finding the digital evidence of exploitation so the children can be set free from their abusers.
Josh Saltar
Detective Joseph Scaramucci began his career in law enforcement in 2004 and was promoted to Detective in 2008 with the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, investigating Crimes Against Persons. Since creating a Human Trafficking Unit in 2014, Detective Scaramucci has conducted sting operations resulting in the arrest of more than 600 sex buyers, and 159 individuals for human trafficking and related offenses, which has led to the identification of 280 trafficking victims. He has further advised and testified in the State House and Senate, assisting with the creation and passage of laws leading to harsher penalties for human trafficking, as well as working against laws that would have added further burdens on victims. He is further employed as a consultant, contracted to provide training and technical assistance for numerous Department of Justice- funded Enhanced Collaborative Model task forces, as well as other national and international anti-trafficking organizations. He has trained 581 agencies throughout 44 states, 28 federal and DOD agencies, as well as law enforcement agencies in 11 countries, and provides technical support for their human trafficking operations and Investigations.
Detective Joseph Scaramucci
Male Survivor of the Year (He/They/Them)
Healing from the abuse and trauma is a lifelong journey. But this person has gone above and beyond their trauma to make a difference in the works. They have walked besides other survivors, found their voices and are kicking….!
Cristian Eduardo is an advocate, speaker and educator for anti-trafficking initiatives, immigrant and LGBTQ+ rights. He is a survivor of international and domestic sex and labor trafficking, a Mexican immigrant, HIV+, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and someone who speaks openly about the mental health challenges he has faced that frequently result from trauma. Cristian is a Lead Human Trafficking Consultant and Survivor with Shobana Powell Consulting, shaping national human trafficking trainings and policies. He also serves as a Survivor Consultant for ECPAT-USA, Center for Court Innovation, and USCRI. He is the Co-Founder of United Immigrants of New York (UIONY), a coalition of immigration advocates providing accessible education and resources to Spanish-speaking immigrants in New York. Cristian is on the Steering Committees for New Yorkers for the Equality Model & Louisiana for Survivors’ Justice Coalition and has been instrumental in the development of Equality Model training & legislation across the US.
Cristian Eduardo (New York)
Nathan Earl is a researcher, human rights activist, and the Principal Consultant at giantslayer. Under the giantslayer. brand, Nathan leverages more than 20 years of lived and professional experience to help organizations and communities prevent violence against boys and men. Nathan’s educational background is in health communications, and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree at Yale University. Nathan is advancing the counter-trafficking movement as an advisor to the National Center on Child Trafficking, offering thought-leadership as a Board Director of Love 146, and through his participation in several research projects studying various health interventions to prevent violence against marginalized groups.
Nathan Earl
When John-Michael Lander was a 14-year-old Olympic-bound athlete, the adults entrusted in his training groomed and trafficked him into silence. Through writing, speaking, and consulting, he helps individuals and organizations identify the Predatory Grooming Trifecta© and Men Too Are Trafficked. He talks about Male Trauma Bonding, Locker Room Talk, How to Talk to Male Survivors, and Why Men Don’t Report. As a certified Trainer and Life coach for the Self-Talk Institute he helps survivors find their voice.
John Michael Lander
Suleman Masood is a subject matter expert on domestic labor trafficking and male victimization. Since 2013, his advocacy experience allowed him to work exclusively with local, state and federal government agencies and non-profit organizations. His expertise includes collaborating with victim service providers and task forces on advocating for ways to improve the quality of services for trafficking survivors. Mr. Masood currently serves as Council Chair for the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. Through Mr. Masood’s leadership, the Advisory Council provides recommendations on federal anti-trafficking policies to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF). Mr. Masood’s partnerships with service providers and first responders include serving as a senior program specialist on behalf of the Office for Victims of Crime and working as a consultant for various law enforcement agencies across the United States. In 2017, Mr. Masood was credited with coining the phrase “survivor-informed,” which was adopted and published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services; a term now integrated throughout the anti- trafficking field. In 2021, Mr. Masood wrote, produced, and narrated a one-of-a-kind visual PSA on labor trafficking with the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Mr. Masood graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Criminology/Victimology from Fresno State University and currently attends the University of the District of Columbia – David A. Clarke School of Law, where he aspires to create meaningful change within the criminal justice system.
Suleman Massod
Female Survivor of the Year (She, They/Them)
Healing from the abuse and trauma is a lifelong journey. But this person has gone above and beyond their trauma to make a difference in the works. They have walked besides other survivors, found their voices and are kicking….!
Tammy Bitanga is an invaluable part of Hoʻōla Nā Pua’s Team as Community Outreach Coordinator. Tammy offers insight and expertise that can only come from being a survivor of childhood sexual exploitation. She infuses her boundless energy into organizing community awareness events and lends her experience from her own healing journey to the role of advocate to other victims and survivors. Tammy has a key role as Volunteer Coordinator at Pearl Haven, Specialize Residential Treatment Campus. Tammy’s life’s story is about rising out of the circumstances of early childhood abuse that led to being in “the system,” becoming a chronic runaway, victimization, and utter despair. In addition to community outreach to ensure victims survivor’s needs are met, she works alongside local law enforcement to ensure a victim centered approach and aid in supporting survivors. This helps to serve as a bridge between both entities. Whether on stage as a powerful speaker, behind the scenes as an event organizer, or working with survivors, Tammy’s leadership is evident and inspiring.
Tammy Bitanga (Hawaii)
Barbara Freeman a SurThriver of 23 years of Human Sex Trafficking. Living a life that cause me so many nightmares and pain. Being sold over and over again starting at the age of 15 years old I was kidnapped and coerced with lies drug and a dream that I couldn’t wake up from. April 8th 2009 I found myself in a alley thinking I missed the rapture and I made a covenant asking for God to deliver me promising to never go back again. I became the first participant of Catch Court in 2009 and Amethyst. Today I celebrate 13 1/2 years sober and free. In 2007 I started the 2012 I started a organization called Freeman Project street ministries. 2018 I opened my first Safe House: along with working with Children’s Hospital, YWCA where I became 2014 Woman of Achievement, Starred in the Turn Out with Film Producer Pearl Gluck, and working with Next Step Recover and today being a Inspirational Motivational Speaker.
Barbara Freeman
Savannah Sanders, Executive Director of Applejack’s Ranch and Founder of The Conquer Method uses her unique perspectives of lived experience and 15 years in the field, to inform policies and practices around the world. Savannah is known for leading with her heart and her passion for prevention. In addition, Savannah has assumed past leadership roles for Survivor Alliance, Sojourner Center, and The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute. In 2015, she graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and published her book Sex Trafficking Prevention: A trauma informed approach for parents and professionals, which is used as tool for many non-profit and educational organizations addressing trafficking.
Savannah Sanders
Charlie Quinn Tebow (they/them) is an advocate, activist, and leader with 13 years of demonstrated work in the Human Services field. Emblazoned by their own adversity, they are fiercely propelled by a mission to serve, empower, and elevate individuals and communities that have experienced trauma and exploitation. They have been contracted to provide training and consultation to agencies and programs all over the United States and several countries in the subject areas of Human Trafficking, Homeless Youth, Victim Advocacy, Child Welfare, Missing and Exploited Youth, Crisis Response, Suicide Prevention, Trauma-Informed Care, Engagement with Trauma Survivors, LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Program Development, Survivor Leadership, Super Hero Therapy, and Healing Arts. Charlie is a professional artist and has found unique ways to employ their own artistry into trauma-informed and person-centered healing tools for trauma survivors. They are a staunch advocate and a leader in social justice activism, dedicated to increasing access and equity for all in the work of serving people.
Charlie Quinn Tebow (Kansas)
2023 Radical Abolitionist Award
Margaret Nacke, Sister of St. Joseph, Concordia, Kansas, has been involved with anti-human trafficking initiatives for the past 11 years. She has engaged in ventures that involve Adult Life Transitions with persons in the U.S. and abroad. As chair of Survivor Services Working Group, committee of US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking, she has been instrumental in creating programs that advance education about trafficking.
Sr. Margaret Nacke (Kansas)
2023 Liberator of the Year
Steven Procopio (Connecticut)
Steven is a trainer and consultant in working with males with a trauma history. His expertise is in the area of childhood sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and other forms of sexual victimization. Steven brings extensive experience in public health, homelessness and youth services. His experience involved implementing innovative initiatives supported by demonstration projects on HIV from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and community based AIDS service organizations. Steven worked with executive directors of AIDS service organizations on the design, implementation and evaluation of a case management system for DPH funded programs in Massachusetts, developing coordinated services based on a continuum of care. Steven’s work in youth services included work as an adolescent therapist, director of a youth shelter for runaway/homeless youth and a family reunification facilitator. Steven’s present professional work is with boys and men with a trauma history, with a focus on childhood sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation/ human trafficking and other forms of sexual victimization. He is a trainer/consultant with the National Human Trafficking Training and Consulting Center. Steven founded the first free standing program serving commercially sexually exploited boys/human trafficked adolescent males in the United States. Steven is a member of the United Nations Global Human Trafficking Task Force, representing the needs of male victims/survivors of human Trafficking. Steven has taught and presented on the issues of male victimization on a local and national level, consulting with various groups on the effects male childhood sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation/human trafficking. Steven served on the victim’s services sub-committee on the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Task Force on Human Trafficking. Steven is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.